Contentment
by wtfoctagon
Summary: In which Asami slowly falls in love with Korra, and she doesn't mind- she's already learned that love goes far beyond distinctions of romantic and platonic and she's just happy to have someone like Korra in her life. Korra, on the other hand, is having more trouble with distinctions on just how she loves the heiress. A series of chronological shorts.
1. Girlfriends

Asami honestly had no idea why she did it.

Getting over Mako hadn't been easy, but it happened smoothly enough. A few crying sessions here and there, getting drunk some nights; and when the haze of emotions and hurt had passed, allowing logic, rationality, and self-forgiveness to settle in. He'd cheated on her, then hadn't even given her the dignity of a proper breakup before calling it official with the Avatar. It wasn't exactly attractive. Or any of her fault. And so she moved on.

Which was exactly why she was so embarrassed with what had happened- ashamed, even. It wasn't that she still had feelings for him. She was, very thoroughly, over him. It was just that- well, she was feeling vulnerable. Completely, utterly emotionally vulnerable and he was right there, and it was familiar, because they both knew how to react to one another, they had an established pattern, and it was the only thing that Asami had in the moment that was safe and stable-

She was filled to the eyeballs with excuses and bullshit. Everything was falling apart. Her dad was in jail. Her company was going under. He was there. He knew how to take care of her. She went for it. She was ashamed.

Seeing him lie to Korra about their fight really was the last nail in the coffin. It was almost funny- only Mako could pull off being dishonest and disrespectful to both ex girlfriends in a few short words. It had to be a new record or something. It was wholly unattractive and he ceased to be any kind of candidate for kissing or emotional support in her eyes. Not that she wouldn't give him a shot at being friends if he apologized.

She wasn't holding her breath, though.

It was horrible that she was happy about Korra's memory returning, and breaking it off with him. It was horrible and she was a horrible friend, but Korra deserved so much better than a lovably earnest but compulsively dishonest and clueless boy. It was a breath of fresh air and she just… felt more happy for Korra than she ever had when the avatar was happy with Mako.

It was hard to explain. She just thought it was nice. The Avatar could stand to be honest with her own happiness a little more, especially with everything that was happening.

She had never had anything against Korra, despite what had happened. And when they began to talk more and become a little closer after harmonic convergence (Korra being everywhere to help with repairs and explain the portals to humans and spirits alike, Asami making big money selling various vehicles to help with the cleanup, them always bumping into each other and then planning to bump into each other), Asami had never felt so relieved. Mako or no Mako, she'd always wanted to be better friends with her.

And now, there was no Mako. Not between them, at least.

"So, when I was gone," Korra started, somberly starting the car forwards again. "Did he tell you that we broke up?"

They were driving away from the docks after they received the news, looking for the new airbender despite Mako's awkward salute. The wind blew into their hair and Asami absently noted that their acceleration was smoother than just moments before. Korra was always better at things when she wasn't trying too hard.

"Yeah," She replied, feeling her gut tense a little. "We all knew." _And I still kissed him like the shitty person I am._ "Sorry."

Korra closed her eyes and flushed. "That's… pretty embarrassing." Asami wanted to tell her that she, of all people, had nothing to be embarrassed about.

This was it. This was her chance. Honesty. Good friendship. Owning up to her mistakes. Taking responsibility for what she did.

"Actually, I need to tell you something about that, and, I should have told you this sooner, but, while you were gone…" It came out in a rambling rush, but she lost her steam as soon as she got to the actual confession part. Typical. She looked at Korra guiltily out of the corner of her eyes, gauging her reaction. "I kind of…" _oh, get it out already_. "Kissed him."

It sounded as bad as she thought it would. "I'm sorry," she added, deflated.

Korra _laughed_. The sound made Asami's heart jump. She wasn't mad. She wasn't hurt.

"No wonder he's so nervous around us," she said, still grinning.

"You're not mad?" Asami asked.

"No," Korra says, as if the notion is ridiculous, and Asami feels forgiven. "I mean, I kissed Mako when he was going out with you, so."

She'd forgotten about that. When Korra said it like that, it sounded fair. In a twisted way. But she remembered that Korra had never told Asami herself, when the heiress took a breath and plunged into honesty. She wasn't mad- but she still felt a bit playfully miffed.

So she put on her best unimpressed face. "You _what_."

She wished she could frame Korra's reaction. In one of Varrick's movers, perhaps. The Avatar looked like she had kicked Asami's puppy, eyes wide and fearful. It was cute.

"I'm so sorry!" She said, tensing up. "I thought you knew!"

_No thanks to you_, Asami thought, not unkindly. Again, she was over it. She relaxed, fighting the urge to laugh and feeling a little smug.

"I'm kidding. I knew a long time ago."

Korra laughed again, and Asami realized she could really get used to being the cause of it.

"Well, whatever happened with Mako," she chuckled, eyes back on the road, "I'm glad it hasn't come between us. I've never had a girlfriend to hang out with and talk to before. Except for Naga."

And the wistful smile on the girl's face really showed that polarbear dogs were great for hugs, not so much for conversation. She remembered that the Avatar was isolated since childhood and the small smile tugged even more at her heartstrings.

(Of course, a small part of her absently chuckled at Korra's use of the word "girlfriend". Normal girls using that word to merely denote female friends had been an endless source of confusion and pubescent embarrassment when she'd been in boarding school in Ba Sing Se.)

She turned and opened her mouth to say, let's go get lunch together, let Mako look for the airbender for a while-

"This is nice."

Asami agreed wholeheartedly. Then, she agreed that Korra should keep her eyes on the road.

"Vine- VINE!"


	2. It's Not Weird

Not entirely Korrasami, sorry. I wanted to establish Asami's bisexuality and delve into the queer history of the avatar world, and I kind of had to get it out of my system. Next chapter will be very fluffy, though. Promise.

* * *

Truth be told, Asami wasn't expecting to be much help when Pema roped her into finding Ikki. She'd come to the island after a few meetings with clients hoping to catch Korra, but she and Tenzin had run off to secure the new airbender and Pema's second daughter had disappeared after having been bullied again. She was glad to help, it was just that… Well, she's never had siblings before. It had been her, her father and mother, and the household staff. Then her mother died and she was sent to Ba Sing Se, and she supposed her friends there had become a little like sisters, but she knew that it was different. If she found Ikki, what would she say?

She learned to socialize and sweet talk business people into deals. Etiquette lessons didn't quite cover counselling or consoling. Especially children.

"Ikki!" She called. Kya had taken the inside of the temple and she the outside. Pema was scolding the kids in the dining room. "Ikki, where are you?"

"Over here…" Came the dejected reply- it was odd, associating the word 'dejected' with 'Ikki'. Asami looked up to see the top of twin buns on the roof of the meditating pavilion.

"Hey," She started, unsure of what to do. Or how to console someone on a rooftop that she couldn't reach. "Wanna talk about what happened?" She asked, coming around to lean on the pillar closest to the girl.

"Not really." Yeah, with how awkward Asami sounded, she would have said no too.

"Okay. Wanna talk about something else?"

There was a brief silence. Asami thought about leaving the poor kid alone to her devices and telling Pema that she was safe, at the very least.

"Why do you like boys?"

The question was so abrupt and so abruptly enthusiastic that Asami didn't know to be flustered or relieved. Nosey tactless questions asked like that had to mean she wasn't that upset, right?

"I don't know," Asami said, shrugging. "I just do."

"But they're gross," came the huffy reply. "And noisy and mean and stupid."

Asami laughed. "Anyone can be like that."

She could almost hear the grumpily crossed arms. "Girls are nicer. And prettier. And better." Ikki's enthusiasm trailed as she rattled off the reasons. Asami peered up at the edge of the roof, starting to have a hunch about what this was, and wondering if she was right.

"What brought this on?"

She probably shouldn't have been that blunt or straightforward. Again, this wasn't her forte. Children were simpler, more fragile. She, of all people, knew that.

"Jinora was reading to us about the Avatars." The girl finally spoke. "I said that I wanted to get married to Avatar Kyoshi and she said it was weird."

Asami imagined that she had been crueler than that because precocious children could be. And she'd seen Meelo in action- he must have agreed with what the older sister had been saying with ten times the gusto, just because.

She sighed. But she was a little hopeful, she guessed. If there was anyone on the island that Ikki could have talked to, Asami was probably not the worst. She hoisted herself to sit on the pavilion's rail, settling in for a long talk.

"It's not weird. I wanted to marry Princess Yue when I was younger."

A short scramble later, Ikki's head was hanging down from the roof, peering at Asami in hopeful shock.

"Really?"

The sheer earnestness of the question made Asami laugh brightly. "Yes, really. I thought that she was _so_ pretty and kind."

It was so strange to see the human energy ball falter and hesitate- but she did, averting her eyes and biting her lip in uncertainty.

"So… You don't think I'm weird?"

Asami shook her head. "Not at all." She patted the railing beside her. "Come down."

Ikki dropped herself from the roof with a short flip and a gust of air, settling herself firmly on the railing. The finesse with which these kids airbended never ceased to amaze her.

"Jinora said that I was weird and that girls weren't supposed to like girls," the airbender shot out, "And that I'd never be able to marry a girl and that no one would like me."

Asami blinked. "That must have… sucked."

"It diiid!" Ikki said, beaming up at Asami. "She's so stupid!"

"Well…" The heiress sighed. "She just doesn't understand. A lot of people don't understand in this world, kiddo."

The girl blinked up at her, confused. Asami's heart felt like breaking. It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair at all, to have to tell a young girl that she had to be careful about who she loved and who she told. But at least, in this, Asami could save her from what she had to learn in tears.

"Girls who like girls and boys who like boys aren't very common in the world. So a lot of people don't understand that it's not weird."

"But they should!" Ikki insisted, huffing. "Why don't they?"

Various explanations flashed in her mind; she had asked the same question, after all, digging into every book there was on the subject. Abbot Song's Thesis on the Illusion of Gender, Princess Lian Sun's Essay on the Heteropatriarchal Matrix, Memoirs of Saikaku Ihara… Most of which was probably too complicated to assuage the girl's frustration. And launching into how gender was a social construct would probably break the girl's brain.

"It wasn't always like this," she started. "Airbenders didn't care who was in love with who, and the Water tribes openly celebrated relationships between men. There was an Earth King a long time ago who cut his sleeves off rather than wake his boyfriend in the morning by getting up."

"Really?" Asami nodded. "So why did it change?"

"It started with Chin the Conquerer," she said. "He started making laws so that anyone who dated anyone of the same gender got arrested."

"Arrested?" Ikki's eyes bugged out.

"Yeah. When Avatar Kyoshi defeated him, some places changed the law, some places didn't. When Firelord Sozin started the war, though, he put the law back into place."

"Why?" Ikki whined.

Power, the idea of masculinity as the superior in an effort to subjugate the nations, and a false understanding of balance of Yin and Yang, among other things. Asami thought about telling her that some historians thought that Sozin had always been angered by his attraction to Avatar Roku. She decided against it- it wasn't proven, and it wouldn't do to assume.

"Who knows?" She shrugged. "What ended up happening was that a lot of people were born being told that it was wrong. Over a hundred years, the world just… changed."

"Even the air nomads?" Ikki asked, fiddling with her fingers.

"No, they didn't. They always believed that love was free. But after the Fire Nation invaded…"

There was a brief silence as it sunk in for the airbender girl. Asami had always wondered how they took it, the enormous burden of an entire culture on their shoulders. They were the last airbenders of the world, the last ones to carry on the legacy. Asami wondered if they understood that, and often hoped that they didn't.

Ikki was quiet for a while. Asami studied her pout and the way her chin rested on her chest, wondering if she'd said the wrong thing.

"This is stupid. And unfair."

"I know." Oh, how she knew. "I'm sorry."

Another pause. "Will I ever be able to find a girlfriend?"

The question was so trembling, so small, that Asami put an arm around the girl's shoulders. "Of course you will. It's uncommon but it's not _that_ uncommon."

"How do you know?"

Asami smiled. "Because I've had girlfriends too," she said, leaning in conspiratorily.

Ikki gasped and gaped in wonder. Asami felt undeserving. Before the girl could rattle off questions in rapid fire, Pema emerged from the temple and called for them.

"Ikki! There you are!"

"Hi mom!" She yelled back. Asami waved.

"Dinner's ready! Come back inside!"

Asami saw the girl about to protest, so she preempted. "We will! Thank you!"

Ikki pouted up at her as Pema went back inside. "But I-"

"Ah-ah. You have to go inside. You've worried your mother sick."

"But-"

"How about this?" Asami slid off the railing, facing the girl. "You be good to your mom and I'll tell you more about my old girlfriend."

Ikki immediately stuck out her hand. "You have to shake on it! No take-backs!"

They shook, and Asami laughed at the determined grab and shake. "No take-backs. Now go inside."

Ikki gave her another mock skeptical look before grinning widely and hugging her. The heiress barely had time to return it before the airbender scootered off towards the temple.

She quietly scolded herself for the swelling pride in her chest- no need to be self-congratulatory for something anyone would have done. But she couldn't quite help herself. She'd often wondered what it would have been like if someone had been there to tell her that it wasn't weird, when she was eleven and crying that the girl from school moved away, or later, when she was fifteen and reeling about a drunken kiss. It would have been better. Less heartbreaking. Hope and giddiness filled her to the brim at the thought of being able to shield Ikki from that.

Then, she wondered somberly, if she should have promised to tell the girl about Jia. It was a sad, sad story. Ikki could feel cheated.

Asami sighed and headed towards the temple. It was for another day. She'd figure it out.


	3. Hard Work

There was a knock at her door. Asami's heart flinched because it'd been long enough since that she wouldn't ask her father what he wanted out of habit, but not long enough that she would forget how he'd come to her room to say goodnight. She rose from her bed, rolling up the prototype diagrams she had been reviewing and placing them on her desk as she passed towards the door.

"Korra?"

The avatar smiled sheepishly in her blue pajamas. It was cute. "Hey Asami."

Asami smiled back. "Hey. What's up?"

"I couldn't sleep."

"Couldn't slee-" Asami whipped her head around to look at her clock. There was no way it was late enough to qualify as being unable to sleep.

Two hours past midnight. Asami blinked. She hadn't meant to stay up that late.

"I'm sorry," Korra started, misinterpreting her expression. "I didn't mean to bother you-"

"No!" Asami exclaimed. "No, of course not; sorry. I was just surprised by how late it was. Come in," she said, opening the door and stepping aside. "Is anything wrong?"

The Avatar flashed her a wry, grateful smile as she entered. "No, I just- I guess I'm just not used to sleeping on an airship, is all."

Asami gestured to her bed, inviting Korra to sit as she followed. "Engine too loud?" she asked, crossing her legs on the green covers. "I can go look at it if you want-"

"No! It's fine," Korra chuckled, settling across the engineer. "You don't need to. I was just wandering and saw your light on. I hope I'm not bothering you."

_You're never a bother_, Asami thought. "Not at all. I should thank you, actually-" she laughed at herself. "I would have worked through the night if you hadn't come."

"Wow." Korra blinked. "What were you working on?"

"Some prototypes for cargo planes," Asami said. "I've been wanting to expand on Varrick's biplanes so that they can hold more weight. There's a big market for express shipping, and working on sturdier small aircraft instead of faster ships might be my way in."

Future Industries, being a subset of Varrick's shares, had been granted a large portion of his capital in legal proceedings after he'd run off. This included money _and _creative property, much to Asami's delight. Varrick was inventive, she had to give him that, but she was a much better engineer. Future Industries was well on it's way back to the top.

"I really want to wipe the image of arms manufacturing from our name, you know? Making people's lives easier, not killing them. Less tanks, more cars, and whatnot." Asami blushed when she realized that she was too close to bragging and that the shop talk was probably boring Korra.

"That's wonderful, Asami." Korra's smile was so… heartfelt. "I'm glad."

Something about the way that the avatar had said it made Asami's chest shake. Maybe it was the fact that it was her first time being sincerely praised after her father had been incarcerated. Maybe it was the pure sentiment. She smiled as she tried not to cry. She'd been spending too much time around businesspeople and clients and not enough around friends.

"Thanks." She chuckled bashfully. "I'll stop before I bore you to death."

"It's not boring!"

Asami raised skeptical brow. Korra laughed. "I mean, okay, I'm not gonna pretend I know anything about running a company, but it's nice to hear about what you've been doing." She grinned. "You've been working so hard."

"So have you."

"Pfft. At least your work isn't repetitive and depressing," she groused, slumping backwards onto the bed. "Try to fix the city, fail, get chewed out at a press conference, rinse and repeat." She twirled her finger sarcastically, other arm draped over her forehead.

Asami chuckled and scooted up to lie on her stomach next to the avatar, cheek resting on her crossed arms. "At least you don't have to deal with that anymore."

Korra grunted. "Getting kicked out wasn't exactly how I was planning to solve things."

She turned her head towards Asami to give a wry grin. The other girl returned it.

"Hey, you did your best, and it's not your problem now. Last I heard, the vines weren't expanding anymore, and they'll relocate everyone eventually."

"I hope so." The avatar let her arm flop over the top of her head, frowning at the bedsheets. Asami had a fleeting urge to reach out and hold her hand, but she knew it'd be too much.

"I just-" Korra started. "I just feel like I should have thought about it more before I left the portals open. About how it would affect everyone. I feel so stupid."

"Mmm," Asami hummed. She didn't want the girl to feel worse, but, she did agree. It had been a bit of an impulsive decision. Maybe it was her own business education- one always thought through the pros and cons before signing off on anything.

"You think so too." Korra laughed in embarrassment and turned away from Asami, groaning.

"Hey," the engineer chuckled, slightly apologetic. "I'm sorry, I do think it was impulsive," she said as she tugged at Korra's shoulder. The Avatar only groaned more in response.

"Come on," Asami laughed, fully on her side and tugging with both hands now. "I'm not judging you for it!"

Korra's shoulders were shaking with laughter now, too, and Asami punched her lightly.

"_Korra._"

The girl in question turned over, finally, with a lopsided smile. "Fair enough," she relented. "I should have thought it through more."

Asami smiled encouragingly. "Hey, you have the next solstice to decide if you wanna close them again."

Korra shrugged. "I guess so."

The darker haired girl opened her mouth to say something, but clapped the back of her hand over her lips as she felt a yawn coming up fast, trying to seal her mouth shut. She could only imagine how unattractive she looked, brow furrowed and cheeks blown out.

Korra sat up hurriedly, apologetically. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be keeping you up."

Asami waved her hand dismissively near the end of her yawn, propping herself up. She wasn't about to kick Korra out, not when the girl was still wide awake and upset. She didn't really believe what the avatar had said earlier about being fine.

"It's fine. You can stay," she said, only a little bit bleary.

"You're tired."

"Only a little."

"Still."

Asami sighed and nudged Korra with her shoulder. "I won't stop you. But you're welcome to stay."

The Avatar smiled gratefully. "Thanks." She still shook her head and swung her legs off the bed. "I should go, though, and try to get some sleep. Tenzin will chew me out if I'm not up in time to meet the airbender."

Asami rubbed her eye and followed Korra as she rose, wondering where the sudden wave of exhaustion had come from. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah," Korra replied, opening the door and stepping through it. "Asami?"

"Hmm?" She blinked, leaning against the side of the open door.

"Thanks."

Asami beamed. "Good night, Avatar Korra."

"Good night, Miss Sato."

* * *

Aaaand the chemistry starts. Hope you're all enjoying the story.


	4. Bedtime Stories

"_I'm serious, Asami, I'm worried about you."_

_Asami only snorts and continues with the drills. Min walks over and catches her arm mid-swing, frowning._

"_Listen to me-"_

"_Why should I? Something good finally happens to me and you decide to get your nose in my love life now?"_

"_That's not fair. I care about you-"_

"_Oh that's rich."_

_She yanks her arm away and walks towards the weapons stand, huffing. Min follows. _

"_Asami, please."_

"_Please what," she sneers, shoving her bo staff onto the stand. _

_Min looks straight into her eyes, mouth set in a determined line. "I want you to be careful. The way that Jia treats you really worries me-"_

"_And I should listen to you, why?" Asami spits. "Jia is my girlfriend now. She actually wants me," she chokes out, voice trembling, eyes burning. "Unlike someone."_

_The words fall like bombs in an armistice._

"_Asami." Min's voice breaks too, brown eyes glossing. "That's not fair."_

"_I should say the same thing!" Asami rubs at her eyes, angry, embarrassed for her tears. "You're my best friend. Why can't you just be happy for me?"_

"_Because I love you." Min says it like it's so final, so honest, with her fists clenched at her sides, as if her very lungs were clenching up in sheer ardour. "I'm sorry that it's not the way you want it, but I do love you. So much."_

Asami Sato was sitting at the bridge, hands resting lightly on the wheel when she heard the soft thumps of Naga's paws against the open meeting chamber floor. She craned her neck to spy white fur padding up the stairs to the bridge.

"Can't sleep, Naga?" She asked, smiling sympathetically. The polarbear dog woofed softly as her head poked over the top of the stairs.

"Ugh, tell me about it," said Korra, rubbing her eye blearily as she ascended the steps with one hand gently scratching Naga's side.

Asami swiveled around in her chair, smiling. The moonlight through the bridge windshield made Naga's fur glow like a moon of her own. Korra was cast in pale light, brown hair let loose around her shoulders. Asami was wearing a simple fasten-up shirt with working pants- after all, a piloting night shift meant that one should be comfortable enough to last through the night but be presentable enough in case everyone had to be woken for an emergency. She did greatly prefer nightgown as pajamas, but, alas. The mountains they were passing through meant that they couldn't simply let the ship drift like they did on the plains, and Future Industries' autopilot systems were still in the conceptual phase.

"Again?" Asami smiled wryly as Naga padded over to her feet and curled herself onto them, letting out a long sigh. She petted the poor creature's back and Korra collapsed into Naga's side in turn, leaning herself against white fur.

"How can I? That's two airbenders that said no. I just have a bad feeling."

"Mm." Asami had to admit, Tenzin wasn't the best salesguy. "It'll work out. Worst case scenario, we can just try again sometime later."

Korra gave a non-committal grunt. "Everything just seems to be going wrong."

Asami stared at the back of what was visible of Korra's head intently. The Avatar had been in a predicament for a while now. The burden of a new avatar cycle, the new airbenders, the spirits in the physical world… She wasn't sure what she could do- she only knew that she should probably watch out for if or when Korra wanted to talk.

The younger girl sighed. "Enough depressing talk. What are you up to?"

"Other than driving?" Asami smirked, running her fingers through Naga's fur. "Thinking about Ba Sing Se, I guess. I used to go to boarding school there."

"What, like an all-girl's rich academy like in the radio shows?"

Korra had meant it jokingly, but Asami sighed in exasperation and defeat. "Yes, actually," she chuckled. "Complete with a strict old matron and really dramatic fifteen year old girls."

Korra sat up and turned her head to stare incredulously. "Really?" Asami nodded and she laughed. The older girl rolled her eyes.

"So, what was fifteen year old Asami Sato like?" Korra asked, turning to sit cross-legged with her arms and chin resting on Naga's back (Closer to Asami's hands than she had been prepared for).

Asami frowned for a moment in thought. "Really pimply, for starters."

"No. Way." Korra's eyes sparkled as she stared up at the pilot, a laugh never quite leaving her lips. "Your skin is like, perfect."

Asami snorted. "It wasn't always. I have an hour-long cleansing and moisturizing routine everytime I shower." She wrinkled her nose. "I used to take myself too seriously for 'all that,'" she said, complete with air quotes. Naga whined at the loss of scritching. Asami got right back to it. "I was a really angry kid."

"Wow. I can't picture that at all."

The nonbender laughed. "I've calmed down a lot since. After my mom died, I was really lonely. At school everyone wanted to be my friend for my money or hated me because they thought I was a prissy rich girl."

Korra looked upwards guiltily at that. Asami caught the look and smiled ruefully. It stung, a bit; it wasn't as if she hadn't had her suspicions, but still. Confirming that Korra had seen her that way felt like a kick in the gut.

"I'm sorry," the Avatar mumbled over Naga's fur.

"It's fine-"

"No, I really am," Korra said, brow furrowing earnestly. "It was petty. And it wasn't- it wasn't true at all. I just wanted to see you that way, you know? I wanted to, because you were just so perfect and pretty and nice and I didn't see how I stood a chance."

"You're the avatar. If anyone didn't stand a chance, it was me- and I didn't." It came out sounding much bitterer than she had anticipated.

Korra shook her head. "I got Mako because we were both dishonest and unfair to you. You're… _perfect_." She said the word in a sigh, and Asami couldn't tell what that meant. "You're so smart and pretty and a kickass fighter too."

The older girl wasn't sure what to do with the ardent compliment, or the swelling feeling in her chest and the burning at the edges of her eyes. She just massaged the polarbear dog's fur absently.

"You're amazing," Korra said, tilting her head slightly. Asami thought it was adorable.

"Thank you. So are you," she said, and meant it.

They shared a small moment in silence, simply smiling at each other. Asami imagined that the twinkling in Korra's blue eyes was just the reflection of the stars in the sky. The blue glow of the night sky seemed to freeze in the air around them.

The Avatar glanced out the front at a shadow and lightly jerked her chin towards it.

"Cliff."

Asami turned to see a rocky outcropping fairly close, then went back to the dashboard, gently pushing the ship to the side. Naga keened, displeased at the moving of the feet she had been lying on and the petting in one swoop. Asami laughed.

"Sorry Naga."

The big white creature just rolled over onto her side, letting out a long sigh through her nose as animals did. Korra laughed and scratched her on the ribs despite her lost perch.

"Spoiled brat."

Asami smiled as she let the airship glide past the jutting rock, checking the navigation panel. She made sure to right the ship back to its original trajectory and watched as the needle slowly traveled from 15 degrees off to the west to centre.

"So," Korra started. "What made fiery little Sato into the refined lady she is today?"

She laughed at that. "I'd say Ice Queen more than fiery. As for refined…" Asami sighed. "I was more uppity. I'll leave it at that."

Korra snickered.

The engineer smiled. "I stopped taking myself so seriously. It was mostly thanks to my best friend, actually. I was going through some…Drama," she said, trying not to feel guilty for the lie by omission. "And she stuck with me through it. She was always there to vent or cry to and never turned me away. Even though I treated her badly sometimes."

"She sounds amazing."

"She is. I trusted her with everything. Then after a while I just realized… She couldn't trust me the way I did her. She couldn't tell me about herself because I was always upset and needing to talk. I wanted to change. I wanted to give back."

Asami turned to look at the Avatar and found her listening intently, lightly playing with Naga's fur. She smiled.

"It was hard work getting better. I was in a really bad place. But eventually I did it."

"She must have meant a lot to you."

"She did. But in the end I realized that it was really about being honest with myself. If I genuinely couldn't do it by myself, that would have been okay too. But I realized that I could. So I did."

She tugged the airship out of the way of another mountain peak, smoothing her thumb over the varnished wood of the steering stick.

"I guess finally getting to know her more made me realize that there are other people in the world." She laughed. "It sounds so obvious, but… It was the first time that I really understood what it meant. There were so many other people, everyone with their own problems and feelings, all so different from what I knew. The world seemed so much bigger. My problems felt smaller.. and bigger, at the same time."

She glanced back and saw Korra frown.

"I don't get it."

"It's kind of hard to explain, I just…" Asami sighed and leaned back in her chair, looking up at the ceiling. "I started reading more, because I wanted to explore what other people thought, what other countries thought. Because they seemed so worthwhile, and I realized, that my problems and feelings were worthwhile too. I was unique, but I wasn't alone."

She swivelled around for Korra's reaction. The Avatar's brow was furrowed faintly, mouth curved downwards. They slanted upwards in a smile not long after.

"That's really… wise," she said, laughing. Asami laughed along- it was true, after all. It sounded like something that Tenzin would say, not a rich teenager.

"Anyway," she said, resting her cheek in her palm. "I just started to care more about being nicer to people. I'm sorry that ended up being such a long story." She smiled apologetically.

Korra shook her head again. "No, thanks for telling me. Really."

She just looked at the Avatar skeptically. "I doubt listening about my teenage angst was that interesting."

"It was. Trust me." Korra smiled and looked down at her hands. "It helps."

Asami felt a rush of affection for the girl, and hoped that it did, indeed, help. She had taken to noticing every time the Avatar feigned a laugh during one of Bolin's jokes or let herself falter when she thought no one was looking.

Korra yawned, open-mouthed and shameless, and Asami's cheeks tugged upwards insistently.

"Finally sleepy?"

"Yeah," she grunted, stretching, and sighing after popping her spine a bit. "You should tell me bedtime stories more often," she teased. Asami just smirked.

"As you wish, Avatar."

Korra rolled her eyes despite her grin. Asami watched and waited patiently as the younger girl's smile fell into a pondering stare directed at the floor.

"Asami."

"Yes?"

"Do you mind if I sleep here with you?" Korra's hands started fidgeting in Naga's fur, and she refused to make eye contact. "It's just, Naga's out cold and-" her voice started taking on a faintly desperate pitch. "It's- it gets lonely in my room."

Asami saw the flush and lip bite of embarrassment at the admission and felt warmth shoot through her, herself. Yes, the Avatar had gotten much more mellow over the year that she had been in Republic City, but Asami was acutely aware of how hard it was for her to confront any weakness, much less admit it. She thought of reaching out over Naga to hold her hand, but the position would be awkward and actually walking around the polarbear dog to comfort Korra would probably have scared the girl off.

So she just smiled as welcomingly as she could. "Of course you can. It gets pretty lonely up here too."

It was peculiar, Asami mused later on that night as Korra lay on Naga and cushions stolen from the couches downstairs, that the quietest moments of her life were the ones that burned the brightest and clearest in her memory. The butterfly that had landed on her nose after her mother's funeral. The sun setting over the first bike she had but together. Her first kiss over a bridge behind the school after sneaking out one night. Her last night in Min's room, just holding each other before she had left.

Avatar Korra, sitting on the floor of the bridge in her faded blue pajamas, hair mussed around her shoulders, eyes as soft as candlelight in the tranquil blue night, with a smile meant only for her.

* * *

woooo. fluff and stuff.

thanks for reading, and if you have some spare time, please leave a review? I'd love to know what you liked and what you didn't. Makes me feel more motivated and less like I'm flinging words into the empty void and stuff.


	5. Touchy-Feely

This time, Asami was fully expecting the knock on her door. She put the brush aside as she stood, doing up her hair with a ribbon as she walked.

Korra stood in the doorway with a pillow in her arms, Naga lumbering behind her. She smiled sheepishly.

"Hi."

"Hey."

"I was just- uh, passing by and-"

"Can't sleep?"

"Yeah. Yeah."

Asami waited patiently. She could have spared the Avatar and simply invited her in, but this was more fun. Korra scratched her head and stared at her feet, shuffling.

Naga huffed and shoved with her nose, sending Korra stumbling into Asami's personal space. They just barely avoided colliding and falling over, Avatar's hand on Asami's shoulder to steady them both. Korra turned around and scowled.

"Can I _help_ you?"

Naga keened as if in pain. Asami snorted.

"I think she wants to come in," she said, taking mercy.

"Yeah. Sorry. Do you mind?" Korra asked, as if she wouldn't have been here if not for Naga.

"Of course not." She stepped aside to push the door open wider for them. "Make yourselves at home."

Naga nudged her hand with her nose as she passed by. Korra laughed as she plopped onto the bed.

"She likes you."

"I'm flattered," Asami said, shutting the door.

They were landed in a mountain basin for the night, the weather too unruly for a safe flight in the dark. The rapid plunks of rain against the metal of the airship were a muffled echo through the walls and the window in her room pitter-pattered. Asami walked over to where Naga was curled up against the side of the bed and sat with her hands on the animal much like Korra had the previous night.

Korra picked up the open book lying on the bed. "Were you reading?"

"Mhmm," Asami hummed the affirmative, running her fingers along Naga's back to the thumping of her tail.

"'Romance of the Jade Empire'," Korra read the cover, careful not to lose Asami's page. "What's it about?"

"I'm surprised you don't know," Asami remarked, taking the book as the Avatar offered it to her. "It's about one of the most infamous of the ancient Avatars. The nameless one," she said as she closed the book and gently tossed it the short distance to her desk.

Korra laughed bashfully. "I guess they covered that in one of the lectures I skipped."

Asami chuckled. "There's not much to learn, factually. Somehow, all records of who they were were destroyed over the years. There's very little that historians have pieced together, so far. It's more a legend, really."

Korra unfolded her legs to stretch out on her side, head propped up on her hand. Her other hand hung slightly off the bed on Naga's back, idly stroking.

"It looked more like a story than a textbook."

"It is," Asami said. "It's the novel interpretation by Tsao Wu. She imagined the Avatar was a woman; it's infamous for being the only version that does that."

Korra twisted her mouth and frowned thoughtfully. "You know, if I was still connected to my past lives, I'd just be able to ask. I bet that'd make a lot of historian's happy, yeah?"

Asami's eyes shot up from her hands as soon as the Avatar mentioned her past lives. She watched the way that Korra's eyes didn't quite meet Naga's fur that they were directed at, the ever so slightly cynical twist of her mouth, the tenseness in her jaw.

She pretended not to have been staring when Korra looked up into her eyes, smiling again.

"Tell me how it goes."

"Sorry?"

"The story. Tell me how it goes?"

She started to say yes before she froze, eyes widening a bit. She had lied- the depiction of the Nameless Avatar as a woman wasn't the only reason Wu's version was infamous. It was the only chronicling to expand on the... affection with which Empress Lian had referenced the Avatar in her royal memoirs. Asami had been in the middle of reading the part in 'Romance of the Jade Empire' where then-Princess Lian had been expounding on her frustration of being attracted to the Avatar at the gates of the Lotus Assassin fortress when Korra had knocked.

Asami was almost sure that Korra wouldn't react well. From what she had been able to glean from talking to Korra, the White Lotus at the compound did nothing to educate her on the more sociopolitical aspects of the world, and the chances of her having received a talk about sexual orientation was zero.

Well, she could also say that Korra had never been told that loving the same gender was wrong. The question was, was Asami willing to risk it?

She laughed, trying not to sound awkward and nervous. "Does this count as another bedtime story?" She tried, hoping to deflect the conversation.

Korra only laughed and continued to look at her expectantly. Asami felt the back of her neck break out in cold sweat.

"Actually, I haven't finished reading it yet, and…"

She felt like an idiot grasping at straws. Probably sounded like one, too. _Think, Sato, think._

"Oh, okay." Korra said, deflated, moving to rise. "I'm sorry I interrupted-"

"No!" The protest came out far more anxious than Asami had intended. "It's not that I don't want to read it to you, personally, I just- maybe another night?"

"Asami it's okay-"

"I just want to talk to you. Stay. Please?"

_Please believe me, I mean it. And please don't ask more about the book. _She watched the colours shift in Korra's eyes, letting out a soft sigh through her nose when the Avatar laid back down.

The Avatar's brown hair started to cascade around her shoulders at the motion, pooling around the crater where her elbow pressed into the bed. A few idle strands fell the other way, over her chest, hugging her jaw and neck as the swayed by her collarbones.

Korra was decidedly beautiful with her hair down, Asami realized. Perhaps it was the fact that until recently, the only times that she had seen it that way had been during and after fights, where Korra would get beaten up pretty badly. It radiated a calm sense of bravery, and a vulnerability that peace had been made with. She had a fleeting thought that Korra should let it down more often- but then, she realized, that was completely missing the point.

She hadn't realized that she had been staring, or that Korra had been staring as well until the Avatar began to speak.

"It's weird, seeing you like this."

Asami quirked a brow. "What do you mean?"

"Without makeup and with your hair tied up."

"And is that a good weird or a bad weird?" she asked, her smile a cross between exasperated and skeptical. She was pretty sure Korra wasn't trying to tell her she was ugly without makeup.

Pretty sure.

Korra almost balked as she realized what she was saying. "Good weird, good weird! I just-" she flushed as Asami laughed. "I've never seen you without makeup. It's different. Good different," she added hurriedly, and Asami laughed more.

"Nice save, Avatar. You're a natural."

Korra scrunched up her face and huffed. Asami chuckled into white fur.

"Can I brush your hair?" She asked, looking up at Korra with her cheek nestled in Naga's back.

Korra looked confused. "Why?"

Asami shrugged. "Just 'cause."

The Avatar shrugged back. "Okay, I guess."

Naga only gave an unimpressed glance as Asami stood to climb onto the bed as Korra sat up. She settled in behind her and took the brush from where she had left it on the bed, gathering all the strands of brown hair onto the younger girl's back. She started running the comb through the bottom of Korra's hair in gentle but firm strokes.

"It's kind of tangled," Korra said, mildly embarrassed. Asami smiled.

"Hair usually is before you brush it."

She laughed as Korra huffed again. They shared a moment of comfortable silence, with Naga's breathing and the sweeps of the comb in sync with the rain. Korra's head occasionally nodded with a particularly stubborn knot.

"So like…" The Avatar started. "Is this what girlfriends do?"

_No, it usually involves a lot more kissing_, Asami thought to herself, amused. She wondered if she should inform the Avatar that the term 'girlfriend' meant the same thing regardless of the gender of the person saying it.

"What do you mean?"

"You know, brushing hair, and girly stuff. I don't know. No on at the compound really gave me seminars on how to hang out with girls."

Asami laughed. "You hang out with Bolin and Mako well enough. Why is it different because I'm a girl?"

"It's not like that, it's just," Korra shrugged. "I dunno, I'm usually getting into burping competitions with Bolin or chucking water at Mako."

"We can go throw down in the meeting room right now if you'd rather that," she teased.

"No, I like this. This is nice." Korra sighed. "It's just that, you know, I wouldn't do this with the boys. It'd get weird."

"Why?"

"Well, because, they're boys," Korra said, mildly defensive, sounding like she didn't know how to explain.

"Girls and boys can be touchy feely friends if they want to, you know."

"I guess, but I just…" Korra trailed off. Asami waited for a while before she realized the Avatar wasn't going to say anything else.

"There are things you do with Bolin that you wouldn't do with Mako too, if you think about it." She ran her fingers through Korra's hair after the comb, marvelling at the soft texture. "You don't have to know how to hang out with girls. Just hang out with me."

Korra was silent for a moment before chuckling. "I sound really silly when you put it like that."

"It's what I live for."

She laughed as Korra lightly swatted her thigh.

"Hold still, or I'm gonna stab you with the comb by accident."

"I'm sure you'd love that."

They giggled as Asami run the comb over Korra's scalp. There was another long pause before Korra spoke again.

"I just- I've never been this… 'touchy-feely' with a friend before. I'm just- not sure about-"

Boundaries, limits, Asami listed to herself the words that Korra struggled for. She felt her heart swell. This girl. Saviour of Republic city, of the world. Asami had seen her hug people without a second thought, but never held prolonged physical contact with anyone she wasn't expected to. She realized that Korra wouldn't be used to gentle touches for the sake of touching, or know what was okay and what wasn't. She felt affection rush through her at the thought; Korra wanted to be around her as much as Asami did, enough that she didn't know what to do.

"I know," she said simply. "How about this? You tell me when it's awkward for you and I'll tell you when it's awkward for me."

"Okay," Korra sighed, and it sounded relieved and warm.

Asami brushed the comb through Korra's hair one last time and smiled.

"Done."

Korra didn't turn around. "Can I stay the night?"

Asami blinked. The Avatar took the split second of silence as a rejection and finally faced her, a look of panic and apology.

"I'm sorry, I just-" words spilled from her mouth before Asami could say anything. "My mom used to brush my hair and sing me to sleep when I was little, but then after a while she wasn't allowed to come by as often and- and this is weird, I'm weird, I'm basically comparing you to my mom and I'm so sorry-"

Korra abruptly clamped her mouth shut, cheeks flushed. Asami gently put her hands on the back of Korra's head and shoulder, pulling her into a hug. She remembered what it was like to not be able to recall the last time someone had tucked her into bed, or given her a kiss goodnight or brushed her hair. She remembered what it was like to miss her mother, because it was a particular kind of lonely that left her feeling like just the little girl she had been the night her mother had died.

And Korra had looked very much the part, sitting on her bed with just-brushed hair in waves, panic in her eyes and shoulders crawling in on themselves.

"I would love it," she started, letting Korra pull back to look her in the eyes. "If you stayed the night."

She hoped the reassurance would help the Avatar feel the burden of asking to stay a bit less. Korra nodded.

"Thanks. I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

Asami got up to turn her light off, letting the gas switch slowly dim the lantern to nothing. She walked back and peeled her covers back, giving Korra a moment to shuffled over them on the sheets underneath. She climbed in next to her, smiling at the still apologetic look she was given.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I said all that. I've just been feeling… weird, lately."

"It's okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," she said, smiling. She knew that Korra hadn't been the most emotionally stable lately. She was only glad to help.

"I'm still sorry. I don't know what got into me."

Asami only smiled. She knew the girl would feel embarrassed about the outburst for the rest of the night no matter what she said.

"Do you want to cuddle?"

Korra looked apprehensive. "Is that okay? Is that weird? I've never slept with a girl before," she said, looking defeated.

Asami just barely stopped her snicker, clapping both hands over her mouth. She watched as Korra's eyes went wide in horror, realising what she'd said. The older girl shook violently in silenced laughter.

"That's not what I meant-"

Asami buried her face into her pillow, still shaking. She felt like her lung was going to explode.

"I just- _Asami_."

She felt the girl pelting her with a pillow, but she was too far gone, finally exploding into cackles, tears rising to her eyes.

It was later, when Asami had finished laughing up her entire respiratory system and Korra had finished giving her the cold shoulder that they fell asleep, not quite cuddling but with Korra's forehead on the nape of Asami's neck and arms lightly pressed into her back.

* * *

blegh. I really don't like this. It was really rushed and I lost control of their conversation about halfway through.

Thank you for all the reviews! You're all so nice. The princess bride reference was unintentional; oops! thank you for all the compliments. And again, if you have to spare time, lemme know what you'd like to see improved or what you liked.


	6. The Illustrious Miss Sato

"I can't _believe_ that Ryu guy, I swear-"

Asami sighed and continued brushing Korra's hair as she ranted and flexed her fists in anger.

"I'll pound in his lazy, disrespectful, good-for-nothing face-"

"Please don't. You're going to get us arrested."

"Hmph."

She smiled as Korra crossed her arms and pouted. They hadn't taken off from the village that the latest airbender was in, having made the collective decision to have dinner and stay the night before departing. They were sitting on Asami's bed once more with Naga sleeping on the floor, as had become a bit of a habit. "Good thing Mako and Bolin were there to stop you."

Korra huffed once more, then let her hands fall into her lap. "At least Mako's got that stick out of his ass now."

Asami snorted. "Not completely."

Korra laughed. "Never completely, I don't think."

They laughed, and Asami couldn't help but be glad. Being able to talk to Mako without him looking like he was being tortured was nice. He was an emotionally constipated wreck of an ex-boyfriend, yes, but she had always felt like he was the only one who could really relate to her. They'd both had to grow up too soon. It was an incredibly lonely childhood to have.

"Copper for your thoughts?" the Avatar asked, turning her head slightly to look at her friend.

Asami smiled. "Nothing much, I just…"

Korra waited patiently and Asami noted to herself how much the Avatar had matured.

"I can't remember what my mother looked like," she said, watching the comb run through the last of Korra's tangles before she laid it on her lap. "I was six when she died."

She saw Korra shift and turn to sit facing her out of the corner of her eyes. She only looked up when brown hands picked up the comb to put it aside before grasping hers. Asami smiled gratefully.

"I'm okay. I mean, it's not something you ever get over, but I'm okay." She squeezed their hands softly. "I was just thinking about it."

The pads of Korra's thumbs massaged the centre of Asami's palms. "What about it?"

"You were talking about your mother singing to you the other night, and I remembered," she said, enjoying the feeling. "Dad told me that my mother used to sing me to sleep too. I don't remember it."

"I'm sorry."

Asami shook her head. "Don't be. My mom had a bunch of records of her favourite songstress in her old study. She used to play them all the time, and after she died I snuck in to play them when I couldn't sleep. Whenever I try to imagine my mother now, all I can hear is one of the songs on the records."

There were many nights when she simply curled up on the carpet of her mother's old study, listening to the songs about heartbreak and love. After she'd gotten home from Ba Sing Se. Jia's first and last letter. After the equalist uprising, and some nights after.

"What's her name?"

"Hmm?"

"The songstress. What's her name?"

"Suji Seo. She still performs around Republic City sometimes."

Korra laughed. "Too bad I can't go for a concert anymore."

Asami smiled. "I could book her for a private concert outside the city if you want. I'm rich again, haven't you heard?"

Korra smirked and rolled her eyes. Asami could see a brief hesitation before she laid her head in Asami's lap and stretched her legs out. Her feet dangled off the end of the bed.

"How's that going?"

"It's been going okay," she replied, running her fingers in brown hair. "I'm holding off on big deals until I get back, and my PA has been handling the sales."

"Sorry for taking you away."

"I asked to come, you know. And it's fine. Honestly, I would have left most of the selling to Yao anyway. I'm a lot better at diagrams and putting things together than being a CEO."

"You could just leave it to him and go into engineering full-time." Korra closed her eyes as Asami started massaging her scalp. "With exceptions for Team Avatar duties, of course," Korra said, looking up at her with one eye and an impish grin.

"I really couldn't. It's the family, business, and it's all I have left."

"But still- ooh." Korra closed her eye again and tilted her head to the side. "Yeah. Right there."

Asami laughed, massaging that part more insistently, as desired. "You're such a puppy."

Korra grinned languidly. "Hey. Bring me someone who doesn't like head massages and I'll eat Naga's foot."

The polarbear dog in question raised her head to give them an unimpressed look. She settled back into the carpet sighing when the girls only laughed.

"As I was saying," Asami laughed, casually slipping her hair off her shoulder and onto her back where it wasn't accidentally ticking Korra's nose, "I don't think I'd be able to let it go. I wouldn't ever be able to feel good about myself if I ran away from that responsibility." She smiled a little more bitterly. It would have been a lie for her to say that she hadn't thought about giving the company to Yao. He was a good man, sensible, practical, but not cold-hearted.

"Future Industries has hurt a lot of people. I can't just shut myself in my workroom and pretend that never happened."

Even though she had tried for a good while. Drawing up diagrams, wiping all connections with her father and the equalist movement, pretending that that was enough.

Korra pushed herself up on her arms, and Asami admired the way that her body twisted so naturally and fluidly, the tendons in along her arms rising, hair resting a moment on her shoulder before flowing off. The Avatar looked into her eyes, and she just looked so… stricken.

"Asami," she said, with the slightest of cracks from the abrupt change of posture. "What your dad did wasn't your fault."

Her hands, still hovering from where Korra's head had left, fell into her lap. "Isn't it, though?"

The Avatar turned the rest of her body to face her friend too, and grasped Asami's hands again, more firmly this time. "It's _not_. How can you even think that it is?"

"I could have talked to him more. I could have stopped him earlier by being there for him. I could have-" She stopped as she felt the wet cotton rise to her throat and the vice-like twisting in her face. She swallowed and breathed. No. She wouldn't do this again. She had dealt with it a long time ago and she wasn't going to let it get to her again.

Korra squeezed her hands. "He made his choices. It wasn't any of your fault."

Asami sniffed and gave a short laugh of embarrassment before tugging one of her hands away to wipe her eyes with a thumb. "I'm sorry. I'm okay. I'm just-" she sniffed for the last time, breathing out heavily. "I'm bad at the whole self-forgiveness thing."

Korra smiled sympathetically. "Well, you should work on it. You're _amazing_."

Asami snorted. "You're too nice to me." She sighed. "Anyway, what I was saying is that the company is all I have left of my family. I want to see it help more people than it's hurt before I quit, if I ever do."

"You're so brave."

"Not really."

"You are. Better than me, anyway. I've been too scared to ever ask you if you blame me."

Asami watched on as Korra hung her head and bit her lip. It was a nervous habit of the Avatar's, she was beginning to notice, one borne from insecurity.

"Korra." It was Asami's turn to grasp the other girl reassuringly. "Blame you for what? You weren't even there. It was me and Bolin. I made the choice to take him down."

"If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have had to."

"If it weren't for you, Amon would have hurt so many more people," Asami countered with a sad smile. "If he made his choices, so did I. You were only doing what you had to."

Korra peered up at her around her bangs, and Asami considered sweeping them out of her face. She missed her chance as the Avatar simply swung them out of her face, sighing. She smiled, and Asami smiled back.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"I don't know," Korra sighed as she went to lie on the bed, next to Asami. "For talking and hanging out and stuff." She shrugged at Asami, who had stretched herself out on her back next to her. "I just feel like we've been friends for a while but I hardly know anything about you."

Asami smiled quizzically and raised a brow, tucking an arm under her head after she shifted on her side to face Korra. "You know me better than most."

"I know, but like… I don't know your favourite colour or anything."

Asami laughed. "I wear enough red to make that kind of a silly question, you know."

"Ugh, come on," she half scoffed and laughed. "Humor me."

The older girl giggled before relenting. "Fine. Ask away."

"Ahem." Korra put on her best imitation of the probending commentator. "Here we have an exclusive interview with the illustrious Miss Sato, CEO of Future Industries, and prettiest member of Team Avatar!"

Asami laughed as Korra waved her hands about dramatically.

"So tell us, Miss Sato, what is your favourite food? Fire Nation cuisine, perhaps?"

"Something a bit more plain, I'm afraid. Starwheat noodles."

"My, my, such humility! Such charm!"

Asami rolled her eyes, unable to stop laughing at Korra's nasally voice. "Well, what about you?"

Korra blinked. "Me?" she asked in her normal intonations, caught off-guard.

"Yes, you," the engineer said, smiling. "Why wouldn't I want to know about Avatar Korra, the most charming interviewer I've ever had?"

The Avatar blushed and Asami desperately hoped she hadn't gone too far.

"Well, um," Korra stuttered. "I guess it's seaprune stew, just like the way my mom makes it. I did really find any authentic southern tribe stuff in Republic city."

"Mm," Asami hummed. "Next question?"

"Um…" Korra tapped her chin, frowning up at the ceiling. "Favourite time of the year?"

"Around autumn. It's so much easier to dress myself around then. You?"

"Summer. All the fun festivals are on then."

They continued on like that for a while, until Asami asked about Korra's favourite sandwich and received no reply, looking over to see the Avatar fast asleep- mouth slightly open, bangs falling over the bridge of her nose. She smiled, her own eyelids growing heavy, envisioning herself softly pressing a kiss into Korra's cheek before drifting off into unconsciousness.

* * *

asdvkabvdfvhsjbdfkjbhs hi guys

Sorry about the delay! I wanted to get this finished and posted before I got on my flight back to Canada, but it didn't happen and I got too caught up in unpacking in my new apartment and stuff. I will very much be continuing this story! I've even got the ending planned and all. Sort of. I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

Sorry if you see any errors, or if the quality of the ending is subpar- I'm literally rushing to get this uploaded in a coffeeshop before it closes because I don't have internet in my new place yet.

I'm sorry that I don't have time to reply to all your reviews yet, but I'm reading them for sure and appreciating every single one! Once I settle in I'll start replying on a regular basis. Thank you all for your encouragement so much- going through a hard transitional period in my life right now and it really helps. As always, let me know what you thought! Errors, things that could be improved, I'm listening and taking note of everything. And feel free to message me on my tumblr, as I'm more likely to be able to communicate there! (Not that the messaging system is better there than here, but eh.)

P.S. The songstress mentioned is actually Susie Suh, and I highly recommend you guys check her out! Most of the story is inspired by her songs.


	7. My Winter Sun

Asami Sato was _not_ pouting.

She was sitting on the deck of Chief Bei Fong's airship, blanket wrapped around her shoulders and a mug of tea in hands, watching the moonrise over the lake. She was reverently thoughtful after the recent rescue of the airbenders, the victory in restoring a lost nation. Leaning against the wall beside the door to the stairway, she was contemplating on what it meant to belong to the world and a nation at once, what it would mean for the airbenders who had pledged themselves to the Air Nomads even with family in the Earth Kingdom. She pondered about many a great things, of her own origins as a United Republic citizen, the history of the country and what nationality even meant to the identity of an individual.

And, every once in a while, her mind would _not_ wander to how triumphantly the Avatar moved during the fight and didn't visit her room that night like usual.

At least, she wasn't willing to admit it to herself just yet. It was petty, and Asami hated to admit when she was being petty.

She sighed. The Avatar was free to spend her time any way she wished. Asami had convinced herself that their shared nights had been some sort of a promise.

Which it wasn't.

The lake glowed softly like liquid silver and wisps of clouds floated by the moon like pale white sighs. Asami felt the hum and chugs of the engine resonate through the metal of the deck floor and the cabin wall. She mentally counted the different sounds and attributed them to different parts in her head, listening intently to each clink and whir.

"_Hear that, Asami? That's the central piston. It has to pop every hour. It's loud, but don't be scared."_

_Asami isn't. She clings to the worktable with her hands and her chin, only ten years old and a bit too short to be working in her father's workshop. He carefully tightens bolts around the engine on the table, gesturing to parts and asking the little one to name them, and never disappointed. Asami is enthralled. All the metal and leather seem like an old friend, a part of Papa that she gets to have. _

"_It's very important to know what a well-working engine sounds like. Too many times, a problem will pop up but be invisible until the whole thing goes crashing. Boom!" He exclaims, raising his arms, and Asami giggles. He laughs and ruffles her hair. "But if you listen, you'll always know as soon as it happens. Remember that, 'Sami."_

"_Yes, Papa."_

"_As soon as you're old enough, I'm sending you on airships with Yao the rest of the engineers. You'll learn how to work a real engine, just like I did when I was fixing courier ships back in the day. With hard work! No breaks because you're my daughter."_

_Asami swells with pride and happiness; he's starting his spiel, and she always loves this spiel. _

"_Yes Papa."_

"_And those boys, they aren't gonna take you for anything just because you're a girl, and the boss's daughter," he sneers, "And you're going to prove them wrong, aren't you? You have to be twice as great for half the respect, but that won't matter, won't it? Because you're going to be the best damn engineer in the whole world." She loves the way he smiles at her and pats her back when he says this, and he says it a lot. "The very best."_

_She looks up at him and he beams, scooping her up into his arms and kissing her head. _

The door clanged open and Asami almost dropped her tea in shock, silently thankful that she had opted to sit on the side of the door nearer to the doorknob, not the hinges. She looked up to see Korra, with her hand still on the door handle, posture rigid. Her tendons stood starkly in her tight clothes, sculpted like some hero of ancient times, skin glowing in the moonlight, a soft blue overlay over her usual earthy skin. Her hair blew softly in the slight breeze and Asami thought she looked like some powerful, divine spirit looking over a moonlit plain.

Then Korra turned to see her on the ground, brow smoothing out, mouth falling slightly open, and she was Asami's Korra once again.

"Hi," she breathed, still slightly rattled from the sudden entrance.

"Hi," Korra replied, looking sheepish. "I was looking for you."

Asami felt slightly elated at that. "Well, you found me."

Korra nodded and bit her lip, her feet doing a little nervous tick.

"Wanna sit?" Asami offered, patting the spot on the other side of her.

Korra hesitated, then closed the door behind her and did as Asami offered, looking lost and listless. Asami deliberated on holding her hand as she sat down.

"Want some of the blanket?"

Korra smiled and shook her head. "No need. Warming myself with my breath is one of the first things Tenzin taught me."

Asami snorted, taking a sip of her tea. "Lucky you. I have to swaddle myself like a penguin seal if I wanna enjoy a quiet night."

She saw that her attempt at levity had failed somewhat. Korra smiled at her and started to say something before biting her lip again and looking away. Asami sighed.

"Copper for your thoughts?" She asked, smiling in hopes of reminding Korra that she was mimicking her from the other night.

The Avatar did smile. Asami felt triumphant.

"Nothing much, I guess I just- had some stuff on my mind. Missing my parents and all that. I have since I saw them again."

Asami studied Korra's face, trying to gauge how she would react to comfort. She could never really tell with headstrong, stubborn, perhaps insecure people like Korra or Mako- too often they'd take offense at what they deemed to be pity.

She wanted to hold Korra's hand. She understood too well what it felt to miss one's parents.

"I know, I'm stupid- at least I have parents, yeah?" She laughed at herself.

Asami shook her head. "Don't say that. What happens to other people has nothing to do with how you feel about your parents."

Korra insisted on smirking derisively at herself. "But still-"

"I do miss my parents. That why I understand that you would, too. So stop it."

Korra drew her knees up to her chest and hugged them. "Sorry."

Asami sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I just… I hate it," she said, looking at Korra and willing her to make eye contact. "I hate it when you're mean to yourself."

Korra stared at her. Her blue eyes seemed to glow, not like the avatar state but as if her soul itself was bursting out through the blue in her eyes, the sky and sea and the night in her eyes. Asami loved Korra's eyes at night.

"What?" she asked, finally self-conscious. Korra shook her head.

"Nothing. Sorry. I just- I dunno. I'm being weird."

Asami smiled as she took another sip of her tea. "It's okay. As long as you're being weird with me."

_Too flirtatious. Too, too flirtatious oh no oh no oh no._ Asami stared into her tea with the greatest determination not to acknowledge what she had just said. Cold sweat moistened the back of her neck.

Korra laughed it off and leaned her head against Asami's shoulder. "You're too nice to me."

_It's hard not to be_, she thought, but thankfully was able to keep her trap shut that time, instead leaning the side of her head on top of Korra's.

"Just trying to be a good friend."

Korra hummed. Asami loved the way it resonated through her temple.

"I'm scared."

Asami remained silent.

"Ever since I left the portals open I just- Everyone's been expecting so much of me and I've done nothing but screw up. I've only ever gotten through because someone's been there for me- I've never been alone, I never realized how spoiled I was, I just-"

Korra was shaking now and Asami tugged an arm out from under the blanket to put it around the Avatar.

"I just feel so heavy and angry all the time now. It's easier to laugh and feel normal during the day, around everyone but- every night I just stay up and think about how useless I am. I'm scared. I'm so scared."

"You're not useless," Asami insisted, hugging her close. "You rescued the airbenders. You're rebuilding the Air Nation. Everyone is so proud of you."

"It's the least I can do for Tenzin, after I took Aang away from him!"

"Korra, what-" she lifted Korra's face by the chin with her other hand. Tears clung precariously to blue eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"I took Aang away. From Tenzin, from Katara- I was the last connection they had to Aang and now it's gone," she said, in a trembling voice, face crumpled.

"Korra. Korra, listen to me- that was never your fault."

"I let it happen."

"It wasn't your fault."

"I'm alone now. I'm all alone and I'm scared and I don't know what to do."

The words almost jumped to Asami's lips: you're not alone, I'm here, we're all here. But then she remembered that she didn't know what it felt like to have a legacy of souls behind you, reassuring you, ancient ones that she shared a soul with. Asami could never understand the profound loneliness of having lost thousands of selves, the existential terror of no longer being able to see back into your past for guidance.

So she just held Korra. Held as tight as she could, as if she could somehow convey what she felt through sheer intensity of her hold- the sorrow, the sympathy for the responsibility and heaviness that Korra bore that she could never imagine. What could she understand about having lost a legacy, and being unable to separate yourself from the blame? What did she know about being eighteen with a world that didn't seem to do anything but heap responsibility and blame upon her?

Asami pressed her lips to Korra's head as she cried in her arms. She didn't dare offer a simple 'I'm sorry,' even though she wanted to. She held the girl in her arms, rocking slightly, nuzzling her hair with not-quite kisses, until Korra fell asleep.

She didn't wake her to bring them back inside. She knew that the heavy slumber after tears was crucial, something not to be interrupted- the comforting reprieve of oblivion after emotional agony was what gave to a new day, a sense of heavy, faint hope. So she just adjusted her blanket around them and set the Avatar's head against her shoulder as a pillow, and resigned herself to sleep for the night.

Asami let herself dream as the moon passed into the horizon- dream that they were just two girls, together, in some other world- some other world where the Avatar was born in a different city, where the Sato heiress was someone else's daughter, and the two of them never worrying about saving the world, or mistakes, or ten thousand year old legacies. She let herself forget that it was simply a dream, let herself pretend that, one day, it could have been true.

And the two of them would have been happy together.

* * *

RRAARRGGGHHH *flops*

I'm sorry about the wait! Starting school again, and blah blah blah- you know the drill. I'm glad to be finally getting on with my college degree but it's tedious and hard.

So yeah, here you go! bit of fluff, bit of angst, probably riddled with typos- I'm sorry. It probably reads a bit rushed but I wanted to get that scene done before I moved into some more drama and jealousy type things, and Korra realizing that girls can date girls. Some more character development on Mako because he can't be that unlikeable. and Borra bromance. and some jealousy with Opal! set in Zhao Fu.

Thanks for reading and waiting, guys. Hopefully I'll update without giants breaks in the middle.

And totally check out the song In the Moonlight! By Susie Suh, it basically inspired the whole chapter.


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